U.N. chief: Bahrain's closure of main opposition bloc risks escalation

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016 (SPIEF 2016) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 16, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

DUBAI (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that Bahrain's dissolution of its main opposition group risked escalating tensions in the Gulf Arab kingdom beset by a growing rift between a Shi'ite Muslim majority and its Sunni rulers.

Since June Bahrain has taken a series of steps that activists describe as a renewed opposition crackdown, including the arrest of prominent activist Nabeel Rajab and stripping top Shi'ite cleric Isa Qassim of his citizenship.